WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and advancing policies that actually enhance opportunity and well-being, applauds President Trump’s Executive Order to advance merit and end discriminatory and unfair diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies across the federal government. Treating some people better or worse based on immutable characteristics is a repugnant practice that perpetuates—it does not correct—mistreatment. By ending DEI programs, President Trump’s Executive Order restores a bedrock principle to the conduct of the federal government: Regardless of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, birthplace, family, or income, every American should be free to pursue his or her dreams—without the soft bigotry of low expectations.
Equal opportunity is fundamental to American greatness. Independent Women joined the fight for qualifications over quotas shortly after the entire nation saw the consequences of failing to protect merit in high-stakes environments like the Secret Service on July 13, 2024, when former President Trump was nearly assassinated in an unfathomable security failure. Not only are sex-discriminatory employment decisions—like the Secret Service’s arbitrary goal of 30% of agents being female by 2030—illegal, Independent Women believes biased hiring practices actually harm women by casting doubts over female competence, threatening women’s ability to be viewed and treated as equal.
“Over the past four years, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have become widespread in government and have hurt American businesses, academia, and other organizations. Rather than focusing on merit, too many employers were looking to fill quotas and focusing on people’s race, orientation, and other characteristics that have nothing to do with anyone’s qualifications and expertise for the job,” said Carrie Lukas, Independent Women president. “These programs were supposed to help women, minority groups, and others but they didn’t. Instead, they encouraged resentment and for people to assume they were being chosen because of their identities. And in some cases, like with the Secret Service, we saw that these practices really can lead to unqualified people being in powerful positions and failing at their jobs. This created doubts about female competence and put national security at risk. These practices undermine real progress and erode true equality.”
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion is discriminatory, unfair, and should be intolerable. Treating specific groups differently based on immutable characteristics is a repugnant practice that perpetuates—it does not correct—mistreatment,” said Patrice Onwuka, director of Independent Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity. “It’s shameful that the Biden administration forced equity across the federal government, but thankfully President Trump is rooting out this cancerous agenda.
Independent Women Senior Legal Advisor Beth Parlato explained: “The 2023 SCOTUS decisions Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina and Harvard College confirmed that programs like these violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since then, the private sector has been rooting out DEI, from McDonald’s to Walmart and Toyota to John Deere. It’s welcome news that the federal government will also end these discriminatory practices. Thank you, President Trump, and good riddance to DEI.”
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Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.